Jazmin Sanchez said her cousin joined the military because he loved his country.

"I think it was his way of protecting all of us, the people he loved, the whole country," she told KSBW's Tom Miller on Monday. "I remember talking to him two weeks ago and he was telling me that he was going to go back on mission. I wished him good luck, and he said he was doing it to kill all the bad guys."

"He was great. He always played with us he was someone who always wanted to have fun," Jazmin Sanchez said.

Javier Sanchez is survived by his wife, mother, father and two siblings.

He met his wife, Cassandra, while training in Southern California and they were married for less than a year.

After enlisting two years ago, he was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion based out of Ft. Drum, New York.

"He always had this 'country first' attitude and I think that’s what made him sign up," said his uncle, Fernando Vicente.

Before leaving on his 2nd tour, Javier Sanchez stopped by his uncle's house and told him he was eager to return to the war zone.

"He seemed pretty confident about going back so I will always remember him because that's the last time my wife and kids saw him," Vicente said.

Javier Sanchez was keenly aware of the risk and danger that went along with his job. "One of the friends who joined with him died two years ago, also from Greenfield, so I'm sure he knew the risks but he was bound to serve his country," Vicente said.

His family said it plans on hosting an open casket viewing in Soledad and a memorial in Greenfield later this week.